Notes from the Wayside: Epiphany Perspective: In the Details

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.

Comments are always welcomed.

If you find these thoughts helpful, please share.

In the Details

On entering the house, [the wise men] saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Matthew 2:11 (NRSV)

Glorious now behold Him arise

King and God and Sacrifice

From "We Three Kings" by John H. Hopkins, Jr.

As you have probably heard from a popular Christmas song, there are twelve days of Christmas. Today, the day after the twelfth day of Christmas, is called Epiphany, which means "revelation." On this day, the Church remembers that, as a child, Jesus was visited by some astrologers from Persia, often called Wise Men or Magi, who announced that a new king has been born.

In the Gospel of Matthew, we read that, when Jesus is no more than two years old, the Magi arrive in Jerusalem, announcing that they have come to pay homage to the newborn king of the Jews. They explain that they have seen a particular star that signifies the birth of a king. Their news throws the city into an uproar, and the current king Herod consults the religious scholars, asking them where the prophets predicted that the Messiah would be born. They tell Herod that the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem, King David's hometown, and Herod relays the information to the Magi. The Magi head to Bethlehem, and the star leads them to a house, where they find Jesus with His mother. They offer Him gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh.¹

Russian playwright Anton Pavlovich Chekhov believed that a writer should "remove everything that has no relevance to the story." For example, he said, "If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there."² Apparently, Chekhov was not a big fan of extraneous details in stories.

I mention what is known in storytelling as "Chekhov's Gun" because I want you, the reader, to consider that maybe there are no throwaway details in the Bible. St. Matthew specifically names the three gifts of the Magi because each reveals something about who Jesus is and how His story will unfold.

Gold is a gift for royalty. It is obvious that the Magi would bring such a gift, for they have come pay homage to "the child who has been born king of the Jews." Decades later, many people will come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the descendant of King David who will be anointed by God to liberate the Jewish people from oppression and reign amid a new age of peace and prosperity.

Incense is something a priest would burn as an offering to a deity. Christians believe that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine, making Him the perfect priest or mediator between God and humanity. One early Christian theologian describes Jesus as a great high priest who enables us to approach God with confidence, because He is able to empathize with us and has overcome all of the struggles we face.³ Another thinker compares Jesus' example of self-sacrificial love as a "a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God," not unlike burning incense.⁴

Myrrh is the most ominous of the Magi's three gifts. Myrrh was both a perfume used to prepare bodies for burial and an opiate.⁵ This gift points to Jesus' death by crucifixion. According to one Gospel account, when Jesus was crucified, He was offered a mixture of wine and myrrh, which He refused to drink.⁶ According to another account, one of the men who prepared Jesus' body for burial had purchased a large amount of myrrh and aloe.⁷

Another story one might hear at this time of the year takes place when Jesus is almost a teenager. In the Gospel of Luke, were read that, at twelve years of age, Jesus travels with his parents and a large group of pilgrims to Jerusalem to observe Passover. As Jesus' parents head home after the celebration, they realize that their Son is not among their caravan. They head back to Jerusalem and, three days later, they are shocked to find Jesus at the temple, listening to the teachers and asking them questions. His mother asks Him, "Child, why have you treated us like this? Listen! Your father and I have been worried. We've been looking for you!"⁸

Jesus replies, to His parents' confusion, "Why were you looking for me? Didn't you know that it was necessary for me to be in my Father's house?"⁹

This is not just a cute story about Jesus as a precocious and slightly mischievous twelve-year-old; it is actually a foreshadowing of His death and resurrection.

When Jesus is twelve years old, He travels to Jerusalem at Passover with His parents and a caravan of pilgrims, and He stays behind after the celebration. Twenty years later, He will travel to Jerusalem at Passover with His disciples and a crowd of His other followers, and He will be arrested and put on trial.

When Jesus is twelve years old, He is missing for three days before His parents finally find Him. Twenty years later, He will be sentenced to death by crucifixion, and on the third day He will be raised from the dead.

When Jesus is twelve years old, His parents are shocked to find Him at the temple, and Jesus asks them why they were looking for Him, suggesting that they should have known where He was. Twenty years later, His disciples will be shocked to see Him alive and well following His crucifixion, and He will ask them why they are frightened, suggesting that they should have known that He would be crucified and resurrected from the dead.¹⁰

When you read or hear stories of Jesus, I hope you consider the possibility that there are no extraneous details and ponder what great truths the small details might reveal.

Notes:

Matthew 2:1-12
Wikipedia: "Chekhov's Gun"
Hebrews 4:14-16
Ephesians 5:1-2 (NRSV)
Wikipedia: "Myrrh"
Mark 15:23
John 19:39
Luke 2:41-48 (CEB)
Luke 2:49-50 (CEB)
Compare Luke 2:46-50 to Luke 24:36-44.